Telstra / Paradise broadband price obscenities

A year or two ago they introduced attractive broadband options via
cable, though the prices even then were not that hot.

Incredibly since then, most of their prices have remained either
static or increased! Everywhere else they have - well if not tumbled,
then generally reduced significantly.

I contacted TelstraClear 8 months ago re their pricing & packages.
Got a reply back reassuring me that

"Our marketing department are aware of this situation and we are
currently investigating ways to reduce the pricing costs for highspeed
internet and Telstraclear packages". "Marketing department" !!!

Six months later, it was

"We had placed the revising of our internet plans on the back
burnerfor a short time while we have been launching our Digital TV
service. Introducing a better competitive pricing for high speed
internet is high on our agenda and we should have more information on
this shortly."

Yes shortly after that (days) the new digital TV service was announced
- along with new package pricing that in effect INCREASED the cost of
their cable plans

The most obscene of all are their data charges - still up to $4.95 /
100MB - yes that's $495 / 10GB.

For the 5GB plan it is cheaper - $9.95 per 500MB, but that is still
$199 / 10GB compared to $10 for the same now available elsewhere.
Makes Telecom look angelic.

Even the base charges are no longer competitive;

eg; 5GB pm @ 2Mbs costs $70.90 + $10.95 (modem rent) !
($150.90 + 10.95 for their 10GB / 10Mbs plan !!!!). Have no option
over the modem rental, so that is part of the fixed monthly cost -
elsewhere you buy one for $100.

vs say 3GB pm @ 2Mbs for $59.95 ($49.95 with tolls) at Slingshot, but
an extra 10GB for $10. Similar pricing elsewhere, albeit bundled
differently.


Recently Dr Freeth spoke of the value of their cable customers

As a longterm cable customer, all I can say is they had better start
taking care of them, or they will start loosing many of them. Despite
Dr Freeth's pronouncements, at times I have begun to wonder if they
really do want to retain the cable system.

David

Posted to nz.comp
cc. Dr Freeth

 

Same here, I swapped to Cable after Telecom's ADSL trial went rather
expensive and dhcp (in 1998 / 1999), it has proved more reliable and at
the old service price / performance a decent deal.

New offerings though seem no longer mention a differentiation between
national and international traffic so there is no way I am "upgrading"
despite phone calls from Clear saying I could.

I could get a "faster" service (faster to where? the bottom of the road?
their network is loaded such that the speed "improvement" is usually
non-existant anyway) but lose my charge differentiation...I could get a
new modem but lose my existing static IP......

They mess about with wixx to screw people over on data charges because
they can.....

They must think people are stupid or something......

It seems base customers are simply not profitable enough. I somehow
think the management is in the wrong business. They dont do a one off
sale occasionally with the corresponding %, they get a constant revenue
stream over many years (lets see 6 years for Clear so far) Im sure many
businesses would kill for that sort of easy base commitment.

Want a child lock on the phone? a one off click but $3~4 a month revenue....

In reality I see Clear/Telstra as no better than Telecom, just as greedy
& deceitful, as a mate says "just another telco".

I just wish wireless technology would hurry along, then I could connect
to a remote hub/portal at the best deal and it would be me doing the
clicking....use VOIP...

Somehow these companies dont seem to care that it will get to the stage
that they wont be needed....just like Telecom found out when Clear moved
in, so many small businesses were p*ssed with Telecom they ran at
Clear....Clear seems to be aiming to reap the same reward.

regards

Thing

 

I'm in the same position, and wonder how long I'll stay on. I was on
the cable as soon as it was available - however my signup was w'
Telstraclear - allthough it was a 'Saturn' package thing.

I don't see that their pricing has gone up either - well not according
to:
http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/products/internet/highspeed/

Furthermore, if you'd stayed on the 'old plan' (the ones you would have
originally been on - as I was) - I believe you can sit on that, and not
change to the current.

The only increase I've had in a coupla years or so is the phone line -
which I got a notification it's gone up a coupla $ a month - that
notification was just a few weeks ago, IIRC.

Agreed it is still dissapointing though - as all the ADSL plans have
pretty much caught up now, speed and pricewise. The exception is the
upload speed (512Kb up). And possibly the static IP which is standard.
But yes, I'd have expected the price to drop in the last two years, and
or the service to get a wee beef up. They just don't seem interested.

I don't know how many times I've emailed 'em / phoned em - re:
http://radio.paradise.net.nz (which I used to listen to all the time).
I note as of 'now' that their remaining 3 broadband stations is now just
a pathetic 2!!!

 

What new offerings - am I missing somethin' here ???#@#[email protected]?

I changed to their "new" plans bloody ages ago:
http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/products/internet/highspeed/

If it's that yer talking about - then yep, they still differentiate
between national and international traffic.

Shame innit - now that they have a lot of customers, their service is as
bad if not worse than Telecoms.

 

wrote in

(snip)

Someone claiming to be a Telstra employee says that much better
value plans are about to be announced:

http://www.gpforums.co.nz/thread/295310/?s=

| ... new TCL cable plans out begining November, NOT the 1st but
| there soon after. (wink wink) Sorry I cant let you know now, I
| know myself but I just cant help posting this as Telstraclear
| have lifted the ball game to international levels ... well very
| very close!

 

I bet they don't read newsgroups either. In actual fact, their management
probably don't really know much about IT.

 

Apologies on that point - got "tricked" by the fact that

http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/ > Products > Packages > Popular
Packages (opens glossy new page) shows prices inclusive of modem hire
(my mis-reading, late at night - naughty me).

Still does not alter the fact that the price (esp for the 10GB plan)
and data are excessive by todays standards.

Still great to hear that change may be in the wind - will withhold
judgement now till 3 Nov ?

David

 

When speaking to a CSR about a week ago he said something about new
plans coming in on 1st November, will be interesting to see if he was
right.

But then again said individual wasn't aware of a 9 hour outage in
Christchurch, nor that it was at that stage some 3+ hours past it's
supposed back up time.

 

I am not at all sure that TelstraClear offers ADSL through its own ex-Saturn
residential telephone network. It uses fibre optic to street cabinets,
decodes to 2 meg 'pipes' each serving a card with 30 D-A convertors for
copper connections to individual customers (the usual Wellington
residential scenario). To offer ADSL they would need to install a ADSL
'head' in each cabinet which AFAIK is not economic especially when cable is
available.

 

Why do they bother with dynamic IP? Most people leave their modems on
24/7 anyway so they really aren't saving much by keeping it dynamic

 

Who...??

 

If you're talking about ADSL/Cable modems I don't know anyone who has
one who doesn't leave it on 24/7

 

Factory default on my 3com adsl modem/router had it disconnect after 20
mins of no activity. I've increased that to an hour

-P.

 

The problem is the "Telstra" in TelstraClear.

I started with Saturn....and once Telstra got involved and focused on a
business customers the whole thing started to fall apart from the point of
view of a residential customer.

I am now a Telecom NZ customer - mainly because I moved out of the Kapiti
region and could no longer get service via TelstraClear cable.

I was pleasantly surpised to find that Telecom was much easier to deal with
- despite a few major issues - than TelstraClear was.

At least Telecom answer the damn phone when you call. I can't remember how
many many times I sat there with the phone on speaker for the better part
of an hour listening to music while waiting- and waiting - for the TC folk
to get around to answering the phone.

 

Pretty well everyone. Your computer may want to go to sleep after half n
hour o inactivity - but the connection to ADSL should always be there.
Think of it as dial-tone - you don't expect to have to log in to dial
tone every time you pick up the phone.

it's a totally diferent technology but the principle is the same: an
ADSL connection should be available on demand 24/7. If it isn't, sack
that provider and move to another one that knows what they are doing.

Philip

 

You're grossly exagerating methinks. The longest wait I've had was
about 10mins. The average wait for me would be about 2 or 3 minutes.

 

Afraid he isnt, I blew thru $10 of airtime waiting on there 0151 number on the
moble waiting for them to answer - so thats about 50 mins.

Still havent got an answer as to why telstra charge for local calls dialed with
the area code when telecom didnt and they told me I was buying the exact same
service from them as telecom.

 

What *is* impressive, however, is that they will be the first to offer
connections (albeit with a data cap) at a speed greater than full speed
ADSL and with a price tag only about 2-3 times greater than what the
majority of telephone subscribers would be prepared to pay.

What should be offered as a minimum, however, is an affordable, flat rate,
symmetrical, 10mb/s plan with no data cap.

Given the trends overseas, especailly in Korea, this will still look
pathetic when compared with new services now being introduced.


Bling Bling

 

I rang them couple weeks back (300), they answered in a coupla minutes.

 

Hi all.

No I don't think he's exagerating by much at all, there have been
times I have given up waiting, and that usually has to be post 20
minutes for me.

The other day 19th it was over 30 minutes before they answered my
call, a situation which could have been easaly avoided had they
bothered putting a message about the fault both up on their website
and on their phone system.